Understanding Chronic Ulcer (Dermal): Causes, Symptoms, and Management

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Chronic Ulcer (Dermal)

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

Additional names

This group contains additional names: - Pressure Ulcers

General

A chronic ulcer is a wound that fails to heal. This represents a problem in the normal function of the skin. The precise timeline for healing varies depending on many factors such as background diseases, BMI, anatomic location and more. However, we expect wound healing to progress at a fixed rate. There are various causes for chronic ulcers including insufficient blood supply, diabetes, infections and more.

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Signs & symptoms

Chronic ulcers, as their name implies, present as ulcers that fail to heal for a long time. The time expected until full healing depends on the size of the original ulcer, age, BMI and more. That is, there is no clear-cut time from which an ulcer becomes a chronic ulcer.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is clinical, based on the physical examination, symptoms and medical history . Any patient with a chronic wound should undergo a full medical history and physical examination in order to detect risk factors that may contribute to this problem. Background diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, ischemic heart disease, as well as smoking and more, are all risk factors for chronic ulcers. A skin biopsy to rule out malignancy is sometimes needed if the wound is present for a long time, especially if no underlying cause is found.

Treatment

The treatment depends on the cause for the chronic ulcer. If the cause is inadequate blood flow, some medications or even surgery may be needed in order to enable blood supply. If infection is present, antimicrobial treatment is needed and so on. This is ofcourse together with maintaining good hygiene and dressing the wound.

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

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